Thailand

By Alexis We’ve been in Sanur, Bali for about a week and a half now and today’s the day we get back on the move! We’re heading over to a new place in Balangan, Bali where we’ll be stressed about my unemployment relax in the sun for a couple weeks. We’ll be staying in a pretty sweet looking bungalow that’s walking distance to the beach and even has a pool! Perfect for shark-a-phobes like me :)…

By Alexis Well, that’s that! We officially left Thailand last night and now we are en route to Japan where we’re meeting up with David’s family for a two week vacation. I must admit that I wasn’t super sad to leave Thailand… Sure, it’s scary to begin this new digital nomad stage of our lives, but Thailand just never lived up to my expectations (more on that later). I’m just excited to move onto the next adventure. We spent…

By Alexis I cannot believe we are leaving Thailand in just a few short days!! We head to Japan on Tuesday, which means this will probably be my last Photo Friday post I EVER write in Thailand and that just blows my mind. So this week I wanted to share something that just screams Thailand, and to me, that’s a classic longboat shot down in the islands. If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you might…

By Alexis When you’re living somewhere (as opposed to vacationing), it’s not every weekend that you go out sightseeing. David and I tend to lean toward the homebody temperment, but with our time in Chiang Mai quickly ticking away, we knew we had to get up and start checking things off our Thailand bucket list. One of those goals was to see the jaw-dropping temple that is Wat Rong Khun, better known as the White Temple. We…

By Alexis Well, it’s official! I finished a year of teaching English in Thailand. It’s crazy to think how fast this school year went by…I started back in June and remember feeling like March was sooo far away. And now here we are! To be totally honest, there were a lot of times throughout the year where I considered quitting, but now that I’ve made it, I’m glad that I stuck it out. On Friday, the…

By David Our Monthly Country itinerary is set! We’ve mentioned this a few times over the past couple months, but now we’ve made the adventure official: We have paid for our monthly homes for the rest of 2015! Just for fun, here’s a little visual tour of where we’ll be traveling, displayed in weather……

By David Since we’re getting ready head out on another adventure in a little over a month, I figured it was time to finally finish this post I started back in October (you are correct, I’m the worst). When we got back to Chiang Mai after our Borneo, Bali, and Ko Lanta trip, we said we would post about the latest travel lessons we learned. Obviously, that never happened. But now, as we’re gearing up…

By David Some context: We both entered Thailand on triple-entry tourist visas. Alexis switched to a non-immigrant B visa once she started teaching. I extended two of my three entries at the Chiang Mai immigration office before my tourist visa finally expired on January 17th, 2015. We tried, unsuccessfully, to get me on a non-immigrant O visa. I did a border run to Mae Sai to get a 30 day visa exempt stamp. This granted…

By David As Alexis wrote a couple weeks ago, the much-anticipated AirAsia Asean Pass was delayed a little bit in its release, but it has officially gone live. Thanks to reader G for the heads up. Buy Your AirAsia Asean Pass Here. There are three key changes that devalue the pass though: 1. The 30-day travel pass is now $160 instead of previously reported $150. 2. $160 is good for 10 “credits,” NOT 10 flights. 3. Not…

By David Yes, you read that right… By David. I’m stepping in this week with a Photo Friday guest post (don’t all let out a sigh of disappoint at once). Because I’m so obviously not as talented as my amazing wife, I didn’t want to throw one picture up here touting its quality and have you all be supremely underwhelmed. So I thought I would share a small collection of photos — photos that provide a…

By David I’m over the hill; I turned the ripe old age of 26 on Friday. The celebratory activities added up to the best non-honeymoon day I’ve had in Thailand. Brunch at Blue Diamond Blue Diamond Breakfast Club (located here) is one of our favorite breakfast/brunch spots in Chiang Mai. The menu consists of a wide range of American breakfast options as well as Thai food. We both got pancakes — chocolate banana for me…

By Alexis One of the biggest things I’ve had to learn as a ESL teacher in Thailand is flexibility. Here, plans change by the minute and you’re expected to just go with the flow, being perpetually ready at a moment’s notice (traits that don’t come naturally to a Type-A overthinker like me). One day this week, I had just handed out worksheets to a 2nd grade class and was having them write their names up…

By Alexis I have been using Clean & Clear facewash for nearly a decade, but when we moved to Thailand I knew that I’d run out of it eventually. When that day finally came recently, I was desperate for a replacement. I couldn’t find my exact wash anywhere in Chiang Mai, and decided to look for a different brand at this random beauty shop that’s on my way home from work. Since I am completely indecisive, I went…

By David I’m sick of dealing with Thai visas. This is exactly what Alexis was talking about when she said visa complications are a big reason why we’d rather live in 12 countries in 12 months rather than live in Germany long-term. When I last wrote about my visa situation, I laid out exactly what I, you, or anyone else would need to get a Non-Immigrant O Visa (aka Dependent Visa) in Chiang Mai. Sorry…